The value of UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company Rockhopper Exploration plunged by 10% at the start of trading in London, after Argentina’s president threatened to sanction oil firms operating near the Falklands Islands. Rockhopper has drilling interests in the Falklands, having discovered significant oil reserves in the Sea Lion prospect to the north of the islands back in 2010. But those interests have come under threat, with Javier Milei claiming overnight that the Sea Lion oilfield was a “clear and present danger”.
Milei claimed that the ‘winds of change’ support Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands, telling a national TV address: Any further advance on the Malvinas Islands will be considered a violation of our national security.” The Sea Lion oil project is about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of the Falklands, and Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum plan to begin drilling in the coming months and start pumping oil in 2028. Shares in Rockhopper (named after the penguin which is native to the Falkland Islands) are currently down 9% at 71.1p, having hit a two-month low at the start of trading.
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